We've received a few questions regarding Trias, so I just want to clarify how you use the site from a coach's perspective. You do NOT need to register on the site...you can just go to the site (www.triassoccercentral.org) to do the following two very useful functions:

1. Check current schedules - if you've had a schedule change or you aren't sure if you did, the schedule for both Association and District games are on Trias. Go to Information--Match Inquiry, and filter on the items at the top of the screen to narrow down to a certain date or range. You can put your team name in there to just pull up your games. Click on the checkbox next to the filter criteria to make it display.

2. Evaluate Referees - this lets you evaluate a referee. Go to Information--Evaluate Referee and use the filter criteria at the top of the screen. Please give constructive, detailed feedback that will be helpful to the referee. This feedback is looked at every week and feedback that can be used is shared with the referee so he/she can improve their performance the next week.

If you are interested in becoming a referee, you can also click on Information--Clinics for upcoming Trias clinics. You can find other clinics at www.wasrc.org/clinics.

Please let me know if you have any questions about using Trias. It is a very useful tool.

Thanks,Tim McMonigleWSSC BoardWSSC Ref Assignor

Great Age Appropriate Training Sessions for the Entire Season!

Washington Youth Soccer’s Age Appropriate Training sessions for coaches! Here you will find 8 weeks’ worth of pre-planned training sessions for age groups U6, U8, U10 and U12. Each week includes four different activities and is specifically designed to provide training based on the needs of that age-group. Additionally, each activity is in print and video format – coaches can see the training exercises in action with the videos and then print the diagrams out to bring to the field. If you have any questions about these training exercises, or would like to learn more about our coaching education opportunities, please contact our Director of Programs, Kimberly Calkins at kimberlyc@WashingtonYouthSoccer.org.

As a coach, I made this mistake and I still see thousands of other coaches make this mistake too… You see soccer coaches continually shouting instructions and yelling at their players on the side
lines. We've all done it. But before you shout instructions from the side line again, stop for a moment and ask yourself a few sobering questions:

Can your players really hear you during the action of a game?
If you've ever played soccer or any sport, you know it's hard to hear your coach during the action of a game. There are just too many other distractions, noises, and things going on. Whether you
like it or not, a player's hearing can be selective during a game.

Can your players really process what you're saying?
During a game, players are making approximately two decisions every second. That's right… TWO decisions every second! This can be challenging even for an adult - so for youth players this can be
paralyzing. You want to make your coach happy, your parents happy, and you want to do well. You need to decide which way to run, how to kick the ball, whether you should pass it, where your
teammates are at, and so on. Now you add a coach yelling at you on the sidelines. Youth players simply can't process everything. And it is even sometimes tough for adults. But youth players are
different because they have not developed mentally, physically, cognitively, or spatially. This makes it nearly impossible for young kids to truly process what a coach is saying on the sideline.

Are you setting a good example for your players?
Some coaches that yell on the sidelines tend to get emotional during the action of the game. They sometimes scold their players and sometimes scream at refs in a very insulting manner. Even
though this is common practice, this behavior displays a very immature and poor example for your players. That's not how adults act in the real world. So why is it ok for us to yell and scream in
sports? I think that is a great injustice to sports (in particular youth sports!)

Young kids are very impressionable and look up to their coaches. In fact, over 20 years later I can still vividly remember countless statements and comments that my coach made to me and
other players. I guarantee the players you are coaching will remember things you say for the rest of their lives.

The truth is that kids learn a lot from sports. So as coaches we need to be careful about the example we set for kids. Like it or not, you're in a powerful position that requires careful thought
and responsibility.

So how should you give instruction to players during games?
I think that if you look in the mirror and answer the three questions above, you'll come to the conclusion that yelling on the sideline doesn't do much good (especially while the game is in
action).

So the next time you are on the sideline, think twice about yelling at kids during the game and consider these general guidelines instead:

Provide instruction when the players come out of the game or when the action stops. Your efforts will be much more effective. When you sub players or have dead ball situations,
use that time to talk with the player one on one. Teach them, make the game fun, and set a good example!

If you say anything during the action of a game, keep it positive. Words of encouragement are good for those players than can hear - and it's also good for the players on the
bench and parents who are usually right on top of you in a soccer match.

If you feel that you must provide instructions during the action of the game, it can be effective to have a few key concepts that you can instruct the players during a game
situation. For example, the coach can shout "out wide" and the players will remember they are supposed to get the ball to the sidelines not up the middle. You can also use short phrases
like "don't bunch" or "down the sideline" on throw-ins, and "not in the middle" when they are clearing the ball.

Above all else, keep things positive during the game! It's a proven fact that too much criticism will hurt a players confidence and slow their development. And nothing looks
worse than an out of control coach yelling and screaming on the sidelines. It does no good and actually has a negative effect.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a recent incredible resource. Here are a few of our favorties:

http://www.coachingsoccerweekly.com This is a nuts and bolts podcast by a premier coach in Missouri. I’ve bought a ton of stuff from the website, most of it good. It’s grown a little commercial as you’ll find out but the podcasts offer a ton of practical information and gets you access to a lot of free booklets that are good.

http://thecoachingjourney.org/the-journey-podcast.html Great high level coaching stuff. Look particularly for the Doug Lemov podcast and the Todd Beane podcast. Doug is an awesome educator. His book Practice Perfect and Teach Like a Champion (1.0 or 2.0) are incredible teaching books. It just so happens that although he is primarily an educator, he is also a youth soccer coach as well as a consultant to the USSF for their coaching courses. Todd Beane is the son in law of Johan Cruyff. Dartmouth and Stanford educated as well as associated with one of the greatest players and coaches in soccer history. Very incisive questions by the moderator.

https://justkickinitpod.com. Like above. Maybe better, Jed Davies (author of perhaps the most thought provoking book I have), Kieren Smith, Liviu Bird (coach at Bainbridge Island FC--coached against him this last fall), Ian Barkley, Darrin Sawatsky (coach of the Sounders U23 team and former Head of Sounders Academy), Raymond Verheijen. I could go on. This is the best one as far as coaching philosophy is concerned although I like the Coaching Journey one too.

WSSC VP of Coaches Tom Gass is an avid student of the game! We asked him to help us update resources for our volunteer coaches and here is some of his recommended reads.

Here is a list of books on actual coahing methods and advice in no particular orer. Most can be purchased on Kindle.

Soccer IQ. The Things that Smart Players Do By Dan Blank. Volume 1 & 2. Possession. Shutout Pizza. High Pressure (pressing). Very good short books with great rules of thumb.

Soccer Anatomy by Don Kirkendall

Improving Your Teams Possession Play by David Goldstein. A key book. Most coaches should look for a vocabulary that clearly conveys their vision to their teams. If possession is a part of that vision, this is the book you should own,

Triangle Midfield by Robert Podeyn

Coaching Dutch Football by Terry Michler

Coaching the Dutch 4-3-3 by Robert Podeyn

How to Play Against and Beat the 4-4-2 (Also other books on beating the 4-3-3, 3-5-2) by David Platt. Very common sense stuff.

How to Play the Flat Back Four. by Jack Detchon - Technical director, Tony Waiters

Developing Game Intelligence In Soccer. Horst Wein.

The Complete Soccer Keeper. Timothy Mulqueen

Coaching the Coach Volumes 1 & 2 -- These are great books for any coach because of the way it breaks down drills and teaches to coach what to look for and how to make coaching points. Richard Seedhouse.

Team Building By Rinus Michels

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

Mindset by Carol Dweck.

Rondos & Positional Games: How to use Spain’s secret weapon by Kieran Smith. Many people use rondos without a clear idea about what they can do for a team. They are not just keep away games. This book applies different Rondos to the game. Playing out of the back, midfield play, switching the point of attack, etc. Also see Wayne Harrison’s book on rondos.

How Simple Can it Be and Soccer Conditioning by Raymond Verheijen. Dutch expert on conditioning and general soccer training. Founder of the World Football Academy. See podcasts for all you coaches that thing isolated running drills are a good thing.

Teach Like A Champion (1.0 and 2.0) and Practice Perfect by Doug Lemov. Soccer coaches must be teachers and these books will give you great insight into teaching skills.

NSCAA Principles of Play for Attacking

NSCAA Principles of Play for Defending

Coaching the Mental Game by Harvey Dorfman. Great book in soccer psychology with great anecdotes. Very entertaining.

Anything by or about John Wooden

Books by or about Anson Dorrance

Pep Confidential: The Inside Story of Pep Guardiola’s First Season at Bayern Munich by Marti Pararnea

Pep Guardiola: The Evolution.

Coaching Soccer: The Official Coaching Manual of the Dutch Soccer Association by Bert Van Lingen. -- This is a great book.

Brilliant Orange, The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer by David Winner. Great book that explores the use of space in Dutch soccer but also in art and music and landscaping and architecture. Due to my oldest’s son’s premier coach for which I was his assistant for 4 years (years ago), I am heavily influenced by Dutch Soccer, particularly Ajax and Barcelona. The journey has taken some turns but they’re the main influences.

Inverting The Pyramid: The History of Soccer Tactics by Jonathan Wilson. An in depth history of tactics.

The Future Game. The English FA Technical Guide For Your Player Development. The English have seen a decline in their soccer position in world competition. This is a very good book for identifying player identity as well as just a bunch of very good activities. Covers all age groups. not cheap.

Coaching the Tiki-Taka Style of Play by Jed C. Davies. Jed Davies outlines in detail the Tiki-Taka football philosophy popularized by Barcelona and Spain and shows you, the coach, how to implement this style of play. Very in depth book that explores the history of how Barca played under Pep and a lot of great activities.

The Philosophy of Football: In Shadows of Marcelo Bielsa by Jed C. Davies. Definitely the most thought provoking book I’ve ever read regarding soccer. Not cheap. Many of us embraced the possession mentality made so attractive by Barcelona. This is an evolution of the previous book. Possession is great but you have to score goals. I will say that the physical limitations of your team dictate how you play. If you don’t have large fast players, it’s probably foolish to play a direct game. But you can be competitive if you possess the ball. A number of the books listed will help you develop a philosophy and activities to get there. But you have to coach your players to recognize when to penetrate.

Check out the World Class Coaching website for coaching books. You can get them in paperback or e-books or both. https://www.worldclasscoaching.com. Once you sign up, you can be eligible for many free books.

I also recommend Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as coaching resources. While I subscribe to the three off them, I do not engage in the minutiae of social interaction. However, if you follow many of the authors I have listed, they will not only lead you to many other coaches, they will yield many free soccer drills.

YouTube has almost every subject you can imagine. It helps to see a video of the topic you’re going to run.

Amazon has many of the books both hard copy and in Kindle. I’ve probably bought over 100 soccer books on Kindle.

I will emphasize this. The first and most important thing is for you to have a vision about how you want your teams to play. Then figure out how to get there. Research it. Make it about soccer and make it fun. Not fitness.

Coaching Qualities

Here are two articles concerning the qualities and characteristics of good and excellent coaches.

The WYS Coaches page covers all things related to player development, coach development and development of the game.Washington Youth Soccer offers coaching courses for all levels – from online certificate courses for U6-U12 coaches to the National C license.

We highly recommend NSCAA Coaching Education courses. Although many of our new, younger, coaches are experienced and athletic, the NSCAA courses don't demand the level of athleticism the USSF courses do, and the instruction and content are first rate!

The NSCAA has launched Get aHEAD Safely in Soccer™, the first interactive online course developed to educate coaches on how to teach safer heading techniques for players ages 11-13. This 30-minute course is free and available to anyone and everyone interested in heading safety.